Have you ever felt “not Jewish enough” or maybe unsure about how to represent your Judaism in a big enough way? Well, I know that I have, and for me it was pretty difficult to get past that hump, but I’m going to share my secrets on how I feel more Jewish every day.

 The first thing I started doing was praying every night and saying the Shema before bed. Praying can look different for everyone, but for me, I like to tell Hashem what I’m grateful for and what I’m hoping for. I’ve been taught that you need to treat Hashem with full honesty: if you're upset, tell him; if you're happy, tell him; he wants to know.

Another thing I do to help me represent my Judaism is wearing a Star of David bracelet every day. For me, I feel like it keeps Hashem with me wherever I go and makes me feel like I am representing my religion even if it isn’t a big piece of jewelry. I think that everyone should do whatever makes them comfortable, and if you personally don’t feel comfortable wearing a big Magen David necklace, then you shouldn’t. In my opinion, I feel better because my bracelet is smaller, meaning I’m still representing, but it is less likely to draw attention, leaving me less likely to face antisemitism.

One last thing I do to feel more Jewish is being open to different sects of Judaism. Personally, I am reformed, but I attend other youth groups with mainly Orthodox teens, so I am exposed to how they live their lives and what they do differently from me. I think that having an open mind about how other people practice Judaism helps me grow my own Jewish identity because I get to learn new things about Judaism that I may never have known. Recently I went to Shabbat dinner at my Orthodox friend's house, and I felt like I got closer to Hashem from participating in prayers I didn’t even know existed, staying off my phone the entire time, learning about how my friend and her family practice Judaism, and engaging in some of their own traditions. Overall, I think it opened my eyes to a whole new side of Judaism I never knew existed, and I’m so lucky I got to experience it.

For me, being Jewish is so much more than just saying “I’m Jewish,” and sometimes it's hard to feel like I’m doing enough to express my Jewish identity, but I know that even the bare minimum is enough in Hashem’s eyes. Praying, wearing a Star of David, and having a relationship with people in other sects of Judaism makes me feel “Jewish enough.”